Sun, Jun 8th - 7:59PM
The Millennium
The Millennium
What is the
basis for insistence that the millennium of chapter twenty of the Book of
Revelation is a literal one thousand year period? Is the word
"thousand" always used in the Bible in the absolute mathematical
sense and never to mean a great number or amount? Think about it: If the cattle
upon a thousand hills belong to God does that mean the cattle on hill #1001 do
not belong to Him? (Psalm 50:10; also consider II Peter 3:8) The argument for a
completely literal hermeneutic is self-defeating as those who argue for a
literal interpretation of every detail of the Book of Revelation do not
themselves interpret everything in Revelation literally. (E.g., Revelation 1:4,
20; 17:9-12; etc.)
The millennium
of Revelation 20 began with the binding of Satan at the first advent.
(Revelation 20:2; Matthew 12:28-29; Luke 10:17-20: John 12:31) The Devil is
bound in that he is unable to deceive the nations in the way the he did
previous to the first advent as Christ now rules the nations and all nations
shall be made disciples of Christ. (Revelation 20:3; Psalm 2:8-12; 72:1-19;
Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:34-36; 14:27; Romans 16:25-26) “Whom the heaven must
receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by
the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” (Acts 3:21; compare
Psalm 22:27, etc.) Jesus Christ is the present ruler of the earth and the
Second Advent will be after worldwide conversion. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts
2:30-36; 3:21; 17:6-7; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28; Ephesians 1:18-23; Hebrews 1:8,
13; 2:5-9; 10:13) Christ will return at the end of the millennium. (Revelation
20:7-9, 12-13; John 5:28-29; II Thessalonians 1:7-9)
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Tue, Jun 3rd - 2:26AM
Matthew 24
Matthew 24
Does Matthew 24 provide signs or conditions that will indicate when the rapture is about to take place? Matthew 24 is a prophecy about the end of the Jewish world which centered on Jerusalem and the temple (Destruction of Jerusalem 70 AD); consider the context and setting. "And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:1-3) There were many deceivers claiming to be Christian (saying that Jesus is Christ) and there were many false prophets and false messiahs in the years and decades preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. (Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 24; Romans 16:17-18; II Corinthians 11:13-15; Titus 1:10) Wars, famines, and pestilences characterised the years preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. (Matthew 24:6-7) Matthew 24:14 was fulfilled before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. (Colossians 1:6, 23) Matthew 24:29 uses an Old Testament figure of speech for national disaster. (Isaiah 13:10; Ezekiel 32:7; Joel 2:10; 3:15) There were survivors of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD; thousands were taken captive, many of whom were sold into slavery. (Matthew 24:40-41) Matthew 24:15 is an obvious reference to the earthly temple in Jerusalem then in operation. "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)" (Matthew 24:15; compare Hebrews 9:11-12, 24-25) In 66 A.D., Roman forces surrounded Jerusalem and made a thrust up to the temple walls and then withdrew for no apparent reason, and then the Christians in Judea fled to the mountains as instructed. (Matthew 24:16) Matthew 24 was fulfilled within the lifetime of people living when the prophecy was uttered. "This generation" is obviously not a reference to some distant future generation, and Jerusalem was destroyed within the lifetime of people then living. "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." (Matthew 24:34; compare Matthew 11:16; 12:39; 17:17; 23:36; etc...)
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Name: Arnold Saxton
